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Reborn Nightmare! The Crossroads of Death!
Reborn Nightmare! The Crossroads of Death! Act I The Hell is this Detail?! The Unlucky Squad The Amazon. A place rarely touched by civilization. Due to either the dozens of dangers of the natural fauna and flora presented to the average human, or the fact not many lived within the dank swamps, flooding immense river, or in the highest trees. However, somehow through someway, a Squad of Soul Reapers got the rotten end of their deal and were sent here. Even though mosquitoes were only to suck on human flesh, they were surprisingly adept in finding perches on the semi-transparent group of ethereal warriors mucking their way towards the Village they were supposed to investigate. "Ugh! Why did we have to get sent here of all places?!" Mōka Shinzō, the second shortest of the squad spoke out, swatting for what seemed like the seventh time against his neck. His appearance was that of a man in his 30's with balding hair, grey eyes, and a tanned complexion. "Maybe its because some asshole decided to be lippy to the Captain?! Ever thought of that?!" Myō? Kakuzen, a female Soul Reaper, being the shortest among them with auburn hair and a fair complexion, with brass rings holding her hair into an elegant ponytail. "Cut that out you two, or you're going to give me a headache," Hara Sakebutori, the man at the head of them, drawled on, wearing a straw hat while chewing on a elongated toothpick. He had a fair complexion, with a 9 O'clock shadow facial hair, with blue eyes and dark brown hair that was done in a traditional samurai band. He also wore a beige cloak around his form, having been called the "Hermit Swordsman," for his knack for being usually stuck on solo missions per his request and his detesting for social activity. He was also the tallest of the group, standing at a good 6ft while Mōka stood at 5ft 10in, and Myō stood at 5ft 7in. "Maybe if you were more of a team player, you wouldn't be stuck with us, Hermit!" Myō complained back at him, obviously irritated with the man's lax and uncaring attitude as they approached their objective. Calling him by his nickname often was Myō's way of trying to prick at the man's nerves, much to no avail. "How about you actually don't bitch about other people's problems and you wouldn't be saddled up with Mōka and I? Ever thought about that?" Hara asked pointedly, his eyes rolling to the back of his head in irritation. He couldn't believe he got up and got this detail. Despite him being 7th Seat, he knew he should've gotten more respect to not handle this "detention" missions where he had to handle the "problem" members of their Division. However, they ceased to speak when they reached the edge of the village. The faint smell of burnt wood, the rotten foliage, and worst of all, the rotten decay of flesh.... "Holy Hell!" Mōka shouted out with widened eyes, as she saw the entire village they were supposed to protect Hollows from was completely wiped out. Bodies were stabbed in trees, blown to pieces, or charred apart. The houses and any wildlife was also weren't spared. Whatever happened, was both unprovoked and unnecessary, "what would do this?!" "Notice anything peculiar?" Hara asked as he calmly strode towards the center of the village, his left hand tapping the pommel of his Zanpakutō in emphasis, "see any signs of Hollow tracks, or craters that would've been caused by Ceros" "What are you yapping ab-" Mōka was about to go off when he stepped onto an elongated trench. Retracting his sandal, he heard the faint hissing sound of something recently cut and burned into the ground. His eyes widened as he recognized the marking all too well, "th-this isn't a Hollow-like technique...I don't even feel Hollow Spiritual Pressure, residually around the entire place!" "Was it an Arrancar?!" Myō asked with sudden nervous flickers in her eyes, looking around as she grasped for her own ninjato Zanpakutō on her waistline, looking around with fright and sudden trepidation. "No. It would've been nearly the same kind've tactics. Plus, the Souls here weren't devoured," Hara noticed from all the bodies around them being lifeless for a little while, "they were all content with their death and accepted it without question. They must've believed they had it coming, the poor bastards. Hollows would've devoured their corpses if they had high Spirit Energy within them, which they shouldn't. This is a isolated village out in the middle of nowhere with barely any residual Spiritual Power residing in any one entity. No, the killer was a Soul Reaper of origin I can't describe," the aledged Hermit then turned his gaze slightly up towards a charred tree, being the highest point of the village and overlooking in any which direction due to what almost appeared to have been a past lightning bolt strike, the entity watching them from above, "and he's been waiting for us the whole time..." In that tree stood a fairly tall man with messy black hair, wearing a leather jacket that had a fur piece around it's collar part. Black pants and shoes he wore as well, holding a claymore like weapon over his shoulder and looking down at the Soul reapers with a lax...and yet menacing gaze. "Well~ I was wondering when the clean up crew would arrive." he spoke aloud with a wry, cunning sounding tone. "!!!!" Both of the other Soul Reapers' eyes looked up at the origin of the voice and were shocked. Not recognizing the man initially, they were more surprised it was indeed a Soul Reaper responsible for such slaughter. That, and they never felt his presence the whole time they approached. "You bastard!" Mōka growled out, waving his left arm out at the perpetrator, his other hand already grasping for his katana Zanpakutō, "you murdered all these people?!" "State your business! Tell us why you committed this treacherous, unwarranted act!" Myō responded in sync with? Mōka, her eyes steeled at the man with a zealous rage burning within her for seeing so many innocents lost. That, and it had to be one of their own, made her own stomach boil within that it would've possibly been a Gotei 13 order or a traitor within their military. But Hara stayed silent. He analyzed his opponent and could already tell the man was holding back an immense Spiritual Power within him. Like a Dam holding back a tsunami, the only thing Hara could tell was that his Killing Intent was barely kept in check. Like a raging animal, he felt as if he stumbled into a predator's cage...with no way out. "Came here for some unfinished buisness with a few of the heads o fthis place." the man said back in the same wry tone, hopping off the tree and landing before the group with a loud thud on the ground, green sparks of energy appearing around his feet as he landed. As he stood up, he continued to rest the blade on his shoulder. "But a few of his guys didn't take too well to my presence. Got a little violent ya know? So, I put them down like the dogs they were, and then just said 'fuck it, I'll go ahead and take the whole village down!' Hehehe...." As he came closer, he stopped chuckling and held a hand up. "Don't worry don't worry, I let the women and children escape...gotta keep my reputation mostly clean after all." "They were defenseless! They didn't even have barely any Spiritual Awareness here! What business could you possibly have with them?!" Mōka growled out, his hand already unsheathing his blade along with Myō. "You better start talking, your punk, or we'll accidentally cut you into pieces beyond recognition!" Myō hissed out, her body barely restrained from lunging at the man standing before him. He truly had to be a coward if he was willing to slaughter so many people who couldn't fight back. Cowards were weak, right?! He had to be weaker than they were...! "I'd answer their questions, friend," Hara spoke lowly, crossing his arms as he chewed his toothpick methodically as he gazed stoically upon the man standing before him, "they tend to not listen to reason when they're this worked up. Might as well give them what they want..." "Oh, sure..." the man replied with a toothy grin, slowly lifting his blade up and stabbing it in the ground. "...I'll give them what they want. Just exactly what they need..." ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ-BRWOOOOOSH!!!!!! Green electricity traveled from the base of his blade and into the ground. It traveled along the dirt covered surface at great speeds, before stopping right in the middle of the three Soul Reapers. Within that second, the energy exploded into a large column of green energy, intent on spliting the group up as well as damage them as much as it could. Hara's eyes could already tell what was coming. Turning his eyes to follow the path of the fissure of energy traveling within the earth, he looked over to his two hotheaded companions, shouting aloud with a commanding voice, "SCATTER!" SHFT-SHFT-CRACK! "NGH!" As they all scattered in sync with Flash Steps, Mōka found himself hit by the brunt of the concussive force created by the explosive pyre of emerald energy. Striking through several trees, his body smashed into a boulder not too far away, before finding his leg penetrated by a thick barb of wood splinters from the last tree, "dammit! Can't...move..." "Mōka!" Myō shouted out with widened eyes of horror. Leaping off the branch she took refuge on, she jettisoned herself to his side, landing with a sliding affect across the slick grass and mud underneath her sandals, "how bad is it?" "Feels like he shattered everything in my back and then put it back together! GRRR!" Mōka struggled to stand, barely keeping himself from falling over from the large wood projectile plunged into his left thigh, "its just a good thing nothing valuable was destroyed from that attack..." "Stay still, let me bandage it," Myō began ripping off a part of her Shikhakushō sleeve, before wrapping it effectively around his leg, binding it with a piece of wood nearby, "you shouldn't move...that asshole is dangerous!"? Meanwhile, Hara had moved, but in a completely different direction. "That's an impressive feat, for someone who hasn't released his Zanpakutō's power," Hara analyzed aloud, his eyes cool and still, and his body displaying a calm stance, still not taking an aggressive or defensive projection towards him, "and your aura feels disturbingly restrained to a bare minimum. You really want to kill us, don't you?" "Kinda, yeah." the man replied, pulling his blade out of the ground and holding it to his side, still grinning. "I don't like people coming around and making threats to me. You guys have any idea who you're dealing with, here?" "While your aura is what I'd find close to a Mod Soul, you seem incredibly authentic," Hara spoke lowly, observing the man's signature that he instinctively emanated, "as for your origin of power, I'd wager you are indeed a Soul Reaper with remnants of Hollowfied energies within you. But, your species is that of a...human's...-" VRRRRRRR!!! However, before he could speak further, Myō was already moving towards the attacker. With lithe grace of an acrobat and speed rivaling Stealth Force Officers of a high caliber, the fierceness of her aura only rivaled at the magnanimously dark red Spiritual Pressure she projected as she rushed towards him. TAP-FLIP-SHFT! With a single ricocheting movement of darting to one tree, backflipping off it, and then Flash-Stepping directly above the enemy... WHAM-FWHOOSH! ...before projecting a perfectly executed double kick towards his shoulders, intending on sending him into the muddy earth in front of him, as well as give herself an area of space as she back-flipped away from him to land a meter or so to Hara's left. VRP-SLAM! "Hey!" the man said aloud as he effortlessly zipped one step backward, a movement so fast that it couldn't be descerned from Shunpou or something else, and quickly whirled around to slam his right leg into the girl's ribcage with intense and yet barely restrained force. "Don't interupt when the adults are talking, brat!" "GAK!" Myō felt herself feel the wind kicked out of her as she was sent hurtling across the air. However, just as surprisingly she twirled her body in a pinwheel motion before righting herself on a branch of a nearby tree. The aura of Spiritual Pressure she emanated had dampened the force just enough to keep herself from being inhibited. Her eyes widened with unrestrained rage, growling out, "DON'T F**K WITH ME!" "Myō!" Hara called out, knowing what he knew about their adversary, knew she would undoubtedly have no affect upon him, "don't engage! This one is out of your le-" "CAN IT, HERMIT!" Myō snarled out, slamming pommel of her Zanpakutō into both of her palms, causing the blade to shatter before them. This happened just before her eyes glowed a menacing red, as she called out... "Shred them..." FWHOOSH-SHINK-SHINK! "...Kokushu!" Within a blast of crimson energy, her arms and hands were enraptured with the blade fragments onto her limbs. Shaped with elegant crimson outlines onto an ebony pair of braces, with a dragons outlined on her plates with a pair of metallic gauntlets with vicious and glowing claws over and around each and every finger of her hands. "I'm going to carve that face of yours," Myō shouted out, her body propelling itself towards him, Flash-Stepping with even greater speed, intending on slashing out in both directions, cutting his face and aiming for his throat. The slashing properties were equivalent to the capabilities a Lieutenant would possess, as well as the speed and execution the strike would retain. FWOSH!!!! "You know kid..." the man suddenly appeared directly behind her, speaking in a low voice while maintaining a nonchalant posture about him. "...it'd do you some good to listen to what your elders have to say..." SLICE!!!!! "It just might save your life!" he said with a renewed grin, whirling around and slashing his sword across the girl's back, intent on giving her an incapacitating wound without actually killing her. "-URRRK!" Myō felt her eyes widen and her body go slack. The pain that shot through her body made her limbs spasm and her vision go dark. She practically had no chance to acknowledge the attack as she fell to the ground with a wet, sickening crunch. Her Zanpakutō itself already reverting back into its Ninjato form, it was clear that she had no consciousness nor will to fight. Hara, however, had remained unmoved by the foolish act made by her comrade. Instead he watched the movement of his adversary, studied the weapon he used, and the maneuver in which he executed it. After realizing the unique visage of his opponent as well as his choice of weapon, he could only sigh, "I should've known you weren't dead...Substitute Soul Reaper...Kūgo Ginjō..." "Took you long enough!" the now confirmed Kūgo spoke out with a wide grin, holding his arms out to his sides as he spoke aloud. "Man oh man, I thought I would end up having to shout it down your ears just so you'd know!" "You should remember me," Hara spoke as he tipped straw hat up a little so his blue eyes locked onto? Kūgo's, speaking a menacing cool tone, "you failed to take my Soul Reaper powers for your own use. Treachery runs thick in your veins, after all, so I don't blame the Soul Society for wanting to keep you on a leash. Wish they did a better job in making sure you were dead though, so I wouldn't be the one to dirty by blade on your carcass..." Here, Kūgo's eyes widened, and his grin briefly lowered. "So it's you after all? I did feel something odd about you when you first showed up, but hey, maybe it was that stupid hat of yours." He then placed the sword back on his shoulder, and his eyes suddenly began to emit a strange violet aura, one that only Reigai were known to use... "So, how ya been these past few years? I didn't fuck you up too bad, did I?" he finished with a low chuckle. "I've been nicknamed a Hermit ''due to my dislikement of being stabbed in the back and not wanting to tag along with tempermental punks, like the ones you messed up," Hara spoke tersely, before thumbing the tsuba with enough pressure to unclick his Zanpakutō out of its sheathe, "that, and I've become accustomed to a few styles of swordsmanship that even you would have trouble dealing with..." "That so?" the other man said with a raised eyebrow and renewed grin, letting his sword come off of his shoulder and to his side in a preparitive stance. "Well, you still talk pretty big, old man. Let's see if you can do anything with that piece of yours." After Hara inhaled through his nostrils, he exhaled in a focused breath that mingled with Spirit Energy, flourishing about into the atmosphere before the ex-Substitute's eyes. Grasping the hilt of his blade, he spread his legs perpindicularly opposite directions, his head bowed, not facing his enemy directly. And after a moment's notice... ''SHFT-SIIIIIING! ...he appeared directly underneath his opponent's guard, unsheathing his blade as he moved to his opponent's left side, releasing a tantamount force of cutting power mingled with Spiritual Energy and blinding speed, aiming to cut deeply into his enemy's abdominal region. The whole action happened so quickly, by the time Hara's enemy would look over, his blade would already be sheathed back into its scabbard as he settled into a Iaidō stance... It was only with a single movement that Kūgo was able to avoid the strike. As he stepped back, his speed enhanced according to the display of green electricity that surrounded his form, the cutting motion went clean through a single strand of his hair. His grin lowered into a frown and his eyes expressing a show of brief surprise as he landed a few feet away from where he was before. "Nice!" he said with his old vigor, taking his sword with both hands and twisting around, swinging it in a horizontal motion with great speed, intent on cutting the man's head clean in two with one motion. "You're pretty fast for an old coot!" "Interesting you'd say that..." SHFT-CLANG-CLANG-CLANG! Hara spoke aloud with a bemusing tone, even as he crouched down and preformed another Iaijjutsu stroke, sending not one but three upper cut strikes towards the incoming behemoth blade. What happened almost looked mind-boggling, as the blade that had been intending to cut a straight line, was forced up into the air and cut above Hara's squatting form. This one moment allowed him the ability to counterattack... "...because I don't feel as if I aged a day, Kūgo!" Hara spoke aloud in a Kiai manner, as he reappeared with a feigned Flash Step maneuver to appear behind the ex-Substitute, long enough to leave a Killing Intent and a sparking Spiritual Pressurized impression to make him believe he was there. Reappearing directly in front of him, Hara's eyes glinted with a serene, dispassionate gaze that any cold blooded killer would possess... "Kōshin Shinpuku!" SFT-SFT-SFT-SFT-SFT-SFT-SFT-SFT-SFT...! Within a series of equally blinding Iaijutsu strikes, nearly a dozen silver strokes of Spiritually coated sword edged cuts were intended to cut across the ex-Substitute's shoulders and torso, intending to deliver some damage, if not send him reeling him a few more meters as he continued his unrelenting assault upon him. "Damn, he's alot faster than I thought...!" Kūgo thought inwardly, feeling his sword move up from it's intended path and narrowing his gaze to squinted eyes. However, the momentum of his blade's new movements allowed him to produce his own counter attack to the next strike. VRIP!!!!! With another flash of green electricity, Kūgo whirled around the man's next, oncoming strikes with incredible speeds, this time bringing his blade back around to the man's neck, aiming to decapitate him in one sweep with a spiritually augmented slash, of which would raze the ground from under them both upon connecting. CLANG-FWHOOSH! Hara moved around in sync with the incoming attacker, his body flourished with an aura of blue-silver Spiritual Pressurized energy, allowing him to initiate a variant of Flash Step unlike any other. As he sheathed his sword once more, he swung out his partially sheathed weapon to absorb the damage, dispersing it all around them into a blazing explosion that spared only the two combatants themselves. Hara's hat flew off during the motion, showing his cool, composed eyes staring back into Kūgo's, as only a small fraction of his weapon had been unleashed to take on the massive claymore, aching to slice through his own head. "You haven't changed," Hara spoke solemnly, as his eyes peered into the ex-Substitute's soul through the emotions he projected thus far, "you're still empty 'inside..." "Yeah?" the ex-substitute said back in an irked tone, his right eye twitching as he continued. "And you're still a cocky asshole. I wonder what it's like for you, having been put through hell by me, and then come all the way back to being put right in that same position? Ever wonder if one of these brats will stab you in the back like I did?" "They may be insufferable, but they have latent abilities yet to be tapped into. They're too much trouble for ordinary Officers but not me," Hara spoke cooly, pushing back against the weapon with a little more force, enough to actually match the ex-Substitute before him, "I may prefer to be alone, but that doesn't mean I cannot fight for others as well! That's something you could never understand, and its why we never could work together!" ''CRAAAACK-FOOSH! With a sudden, fully unsheathing stroke motion, Hara unleashed a gale of Spiritual Energy mingled with his precise sword swing, intending on knocking him back a few steps. Within that fluid motion, he spun his sword in a blinding arc before catching it in an inverted grip, holding it out towards his opponent while uttering aloud, "'''Tenran!" BWHOOOOOOSH! With that said, a large increasingly widening twister discharged towards the ex-Substiute, intending on forcing across the air and perhaps slam through a number of foilage and large trees surrounding the decimated Village they began battling in. Quickly stepping back before the first move was utilized, the hollow portion of his sword began to bristle with green energy. Staring calmly at his foe, he raised his weapon up over his head and the energy began to bristle up into the blade of his sword. "Cross Rend," he spoke plainly before- FRWOOOOOOM!!!!!!! -slashing his sword down, releasing an incredibly pressurized cutting wave from the motion, slashing down with the intent and potency to cut through the Tenran spell and onto it's source. This battle would end quickly, in Kūgo's mind, for he had grown far stronger than what the man's memory of the old Kūgo could be. "He cut through it?!" Hara's eyes widened with shock with just moments to spare. As his body lit up with Spiritual Pressure, he initiated another employment of his personal variant of Flash Step, as he pivoted his heels to move directly around the incoming technique. SZZZZZT! "You've gotten better, Kūgo," Hara spoke with a stoic stare, levelling his gait to him as his left side showed charring and a slight blood trail from where the Cross Rend connected, "I guess I'll have to fight you accordingly with equal tenacity...." VMMMMM!!! As Hara spoke this, his body became enraptured in a bright silver-blue aura of Spiritual Pressure, allowing his blade to glow in sync with him. Twisting his blade around in a serene arc, he moved to sheathe it, while speaking ominously, "Strike First from the Heavens..." CRRRRRK-ZZZZZT! "...Hayāchi!" Hara called out, causing his katana to shift in shape and form, transforming it into Chinese broadsword with a katana grip and a disc-shaped guard. With a hollow section carved out in its space where the constant thrum of electricity could be seen, heard, and felt, causing the entire area to shift and crack with an unnerving pressure around them. "This is your first time seeing my Zanpakutō, isn't it?" Hara asked aloud as he eyed him with a vivid change in his stare. Instead of the stoic stare that normally annoyed the ex-Substitute, it was a sheer menacing glare. With nothing but disgust and malice projecting forth from his eyes, his bloodlust stung the air for all those with keen enough senses to be caught within its clutches. "Yeah..." Kūgo repiled as he narrowed his gaze towards the newly released Zanpakuto. "Looks like you're gonna start fighting seriously now, right?" "Right..." SMACK! "...can you keep up?!" Hara spoke gutturally, as he vividly disappeared from sensation and sight, reappearing behind the the ex-Substitute, swinging out a electric-coated hand to the back of his head, intending on preforming a shocking attack accompanied by the devestating blow of a ridged hand strike. All of this transpiring within a blink of Kūgo's eyes... Instead of reacting with shock, Kugo instead reacted with the same manic expression that he'd always use in these situations. Whirling around and gripping the hollowed out handle of his sword's grip, he blocked the strike successfully. However, the shocking sensation as well as the force behind the blow forced him to back up as quickly as he could so that he wouldn't take too much damage. "You're too predictable, Hara! Striking from behind is my gig!" But Kūgo spoke too soon... SRRK-SLICE! ...as within the movement he was employing to back away from his opponent became irrelevent, as Hara appeared to Kūgo's unguarded left. Having squatted below the sword's reach, he slashed out in a wide arc of shocking currents and potent cutting power towards his exposed arm, intending on incapacitating it and keeping it from being of use to the skilled warrior. "What the?!" ''Kūgo barely had time to react, the shockwave of energy certainly colliding with his form and sending him reeling back, skidding along the ground and hitting a tree behind him, ''"Damn...that's what his Zanpakutō does...!" "So you're just now noticing? I see you're as slow as ever," Hara spoke towards him, rising to his full height, raising his blade in emphasis as it pulsated and crackled with power, "my? Hayāchi allows me to release potent, swift attacks that are barely able to be registered to the eye or senses. Whether it speeds my movements or the electricity it harnesses, Hayāchi can accelerate movements by absorbing the electrical negatives within the battlefield's atmosphere. When in a rain forest, this becomes a boon, as you can see," he pointed above, as thunder roared ominously sounded above as the sign of a storm brewing over them, "we're in the rain season. Negatives are filling the atmosphere like a wildfire. And your body is emanating them like fumes from a spilled gas tank!" SHFT! "Its over," Hara spoke, as his body shimmered and sped towards his opponent, gathering a potent and vibrant stream of electricity around him. As he appeared directly below his guard once again, he thrust his blade forward with unprecedented speed... "Jinsoku Tsuki!" SSSSRRRRK-BOOM! ...with a single thrust, a collescing blade of nearly 3 meters in width discharged from his blade in sync with the edge of the sword lunging towards his upper part of his torso. He made sure to use enough force and energy to char him alive should it nick him, ontop of the penetrative power his blade would have multiplied. "I didn't want to have to do it this early on...."? ''Kūgo thought inwardly, his form beginning to bristle with violet and green energy as he gritted his teeth and narrowed his eyes. Raising his sword up, he noticed that his foe had sent out his new attack, and he only had seconds to spare.? ''"But I ain't got no choice!" "Hinder!" FRWOOOOOOOOOM!!!!!!! Just as the lightning-coated blade came close to him, a massive violet pillar of energy erupted from around Kūgo's form, surrounded by outlying green electricity and repelling the energy blade away from his vicinity. "He released it?!" Hara thought aloud as he felt himself thrown back from the immense force of the Spiritual Power being released by his opponent. Not only had his attack been ineffective, the whole momentum his Zanpakutō and his body utilized to attack his opponent had been completely overpowered. His eyes widened with suspicion and his teeth gritted with raw anticipation from what his opponent would reveal, "hinder? What the Hell is this Spiritual Pressure?! His Zanpakutō was never like this...!" (TuneKicks In) There was a dark figure behind the pillar, holding what appeared to be a much larger version of his previous sword in his right hand. Bringing the weapon to it's left shoulder, it slashed through the energy with one swift movement. The being was revealed to be Kūgo, smiling wryly with a half lidded glare. His eyes radiated a bluish violet aura again, and his form bristled with spots of green and violet electricity. He was wearing a bone like set of armor, resembling a rib cage that was over a blackish coat of sorts. He also wore gauntlets of bone like design, as well as shoulder pads, wristbands, and boots that extended up to his knees. Around his neck was a white fur mane, and his sword was now a much bigger version of it's old form, now with a maroon colored hollow portion and with a more spinal cord appearing handle. In the center of the hand guard was a white skull that had a red X mark across it's head. "Cross of Scaffold." "What happened to your old Zanpakutō, Kūgo?!" Hara found himself taking a step backwards in preparation, raising his blade up in a defensive posture as he began to visibly harness a thick web of electricity around himself, "I've never felt such an evil presence...no...You are not Kūgo Ginjnō, the Substitute Soul Reaper I once knew. Who and what ''are you, '''imposter'?!" "Idiot." Kūgo replied as he calmly walked out of the remnants of his column, resting the giant sword over his shoulder. "I'm not the real Kugo, i'm a Reigai created after him by the 12th Division Captain. The original Kūgo lost his powers sometime after he betrayed you, and he found that he had access to a new power called Fullbring, a power that only humans are capable of. A bit of planning was required, but he managed to acquire new Soul Reaper powers that merged with his Fullbring. And now, this is the result. I'm far stronger than the Kūgo that you knew, and more powerful than the Kūgo that I was modeled after!" "Reigai? He couldn't be?! They were supposed to be destroyed along with everything within Project Spearhead," Hara countered within his head. Then he glared at the imposter before him with affirmation that he wasn't one made by the original creator of such sub-entities. He was recently crafted, by the current Head of the Department of Research and Development. This didn't bode well, considering its still highly illegal to craft Mod Souls for any reason other than field replacement for Soul Reapers using Gigai... "It doesn't matter then," Hara bristled with electrical Spiritual Pressure, his eyes narrowed upon his newly ascended enemy, raising his blade to be held in a Kendo stance instead, preparing to fight with both grit and strength alongside his enhanced reflexes and speed, "you are an enemy of the Soul Society and you slaughtered innocents under the protection of the Soul Society. I will lay down my life if that is what it takes to defeat you!" Enter the Fugitive, The Powers of Rage and Serenity! CLAP-CLAP-CLAP! "Wow...I'm sincerely impressed," a voice called out from virtually nowhere, with no presence to speak of other than the sound of the masculine guest whom stood tall above the battlefield, hovering on a plane of Spiritual energy invisible to the naked eye. Cloaked in a black, high-collar trench coat with metal studs lining it, the man clapped his studded leather gloves in front of his black muscle shirt and black pants with matte black boots. He had a distinguishable katana slung over his chest and his right shoulder with a studded strap, "I haven't heard any honest zeal from Soul Reapers in a long time! You're different from the other two who were KO'ed, that's for sure...!" To this, the Reigai glanced back at the newcomer with an annoyed glare. "And just who the hell are you supposed to be?" SHFT! Silently, the newcomer dropped down onto the soft earth with a wet splash, barely registering as any form of high-speed movement. To Hara's eyes, he didn't use a trace of Spiritual Energy in order to drop, and then managed to keep upright without dirtying himself. "Sorry about watching you without announcing myself. I usually tend to avoid engagements when it comes with Soul Reapers," the man spoke with a wry smile, turning his face to acknowledge the revealed Reigai, "or creations ''of Soul Reapers. My name is Hashi Mokushi, former member of the D.C.O. and Gotei 13. Does that answer your question, or do you want me to give you a treat?" "A treat?" Kūgo replied with a brief laugh, turning to face the new Soul Reaper fully. "What kind of surprise could a brat like you give to me?" "Well, I could kick your ass," Hashi spoke with a flippant tone, scratching his nose pointedly before flicking it in his direction, "would that be a surprise for you? I could always make you kiss my boots afterwards before I mail you to the Soul Society. I'll even put a shiny ribbon on your head! How's that?!" "Why is he goading him?! Is he insane?!" Hara thought with a paled, comical expression of incredulous fear of what might happen to him and himself. With the power this Reigai possessed, he knew that if he was pissed enough, he could level the entire area they were standing on. It wouldn't bode well for his two comrades... "Oh, is that so?" the Reigai replied with a raised eyebrow. "Well, what's holding you back, bitch? Come on! Let's see if that mouth of yours counts for something!-" What happened next would be the display of power different between this man, and Hara. ''SHFT-CLAMP! He moved with a swift Flash Step, being much more precise and fluid in gesture, rivaling that of a Stealth Force's finest with ease. Within that movement he appeared dead in front of the Reigai, grasping the obvious hollow-handle portion of his blade and yanked him forward with incredible strength of his own... WHAM-CRACK! ...before launching two simultaneous physical attacks, with his leg aiming for his gut while his fist palm-heeled towards his jaw, intending on dealing some raw damage within the split second of surprise he possessed to the hot-headed Kūgo. Both strikes connected with their respective targets... "Wow." ...but Kūgo's manic expression didn't change, as he appeared to be virtually unfazed by both strikes. "If that's all you're capable of..." SNATCH! "...then I may as well kill you now, brat!" he exclaimed as his left hand latched onto Hashi's neck, before he slung the young appearing Soul Reaper across the ground and directly towards Hara with incredible, and yet effortlessly exerted force. "What the-?!" Hashi was barely to utter before his surprise disallowed him from being able to evade the grapple to his throat. Even as he was hurtled across the air, he maneuvered his body to allow the momentum to right himself, causing his heels to skid across the wet, damp earth beneath him. Half expecting to accidentally bump into the Soul Reaper behind him, all he felt was a sensation akin to static shock... SSSSSSHRK! ...before blindingly moving to strike the outstretched limb with a curling arc, moving in an upraising fashion while surging with shocking voltage and deadly cutting edge of the blade itself. His movement nearly matched Hashi's own through the moment the newcomer was thrown across the air... In response, Kūgo used a highly augmented Flash-Step of his own, personified by the massive green spark of electricity as he moved directly in front of Hara, slamming his knee into his old enemy's gut with great force, the endurance granted by his Shikai allowing him to remain almost entirely unfazed by the surrounding electricity. "GAUGH!" Hara felt the wind knocked out of him, and the aura of electricity he had purposely wrapped around himself. He knew now how much out of his league this entity. The force generated caused him to cough up blood and saliva, pinwheeling up into the air before falling onto his back heavily. "I see that your Shikai doesn't just give you armor and speed," Hashi spoke pointedly, rolling his neck he began to walk towards his opponent once again. This time, he reached for the black handled katana on his back, but not quite unsheathing it yet, "and here I thought your ass for a face and the rest of your skin was normal. My mistake...I guess Modified Souls are a lot more durable than I remembered." "You got that right, brat." Kūgo said with a smirk as he looked back at Hashi. "Hell of a lot more durable than those of your calibur. If I were you, i'd turn right around and head back to school before you get your ass whooped." "You must not have been upgraded with intelligence, Kūgo," Hashi spoke pointedly, his eyes narrowing to a serious glint, "I've hid from your so-called superior senses for an extended period of time, and I have barely tapped into my power. You boast too soon..." SHFT-SSSSSSHRK-BOOM! "...when I've just begun to fight!" Hashi growled out, moving with an incredible burst of speed via Flash Step directly towards Kūgo. Laced with a vibrant indigo-silver aura of Spiritual Power, he crashed his blade with lightning speed and incredible power, complimentary to the Reigai's own, and aimed to show him a fraction of his true fighting spirit beneath his stoic form. TANG!!!!! Kūgo simply retained his posture and grinned wider, he let his blade slam into his chest, despite the augmented sword's power, and didn't budge from his spot. The wind from the attack shot behind Kūgo and flew into the trees, knocking some of them down from it's sheer force. "I'd say you're the one who isn't taking a leap in brains, kid." Kūgo grinned, as his left fist slammed into Hashi's chest with the same level of speed from before but with augmented force as he would send him flying once more. "You'll never lay a scratch on me if you keep fighting at this level!" SHFT! Hashi narrowly evaded the incoming fist, reappearing directly above him onto a tree limb, looking directly blow at him with an unimpressed gaze, "If all you've done is buff yourself up, I'm unimpressed. If you really want to play a brawling game, then I will happily oblige..." Hashi raised his blade over his head, before spinning it rapidly. A bright indigo light began to form, before Hashi spoke declaratively, "Declare Majestically...!" FWHOOOSH!!!! ...within a bright light, a great gout of Spiritual Pressurized water blasted in a large wave formation, spreading all overhead above his opponent, washing down in a drenching rain. When one would look up after the large amount of water soaked up to knee level below, Hashi would he holding a large crescent halberd blade, with an aura of water swirling around the base-bladed pommel, with Hashi's eyes staring down with a Killing Intent unlike any that had fought the Reigai before. "...Kaiō!" "That's more like it!" the Reigai exclaimed, now having a manically happy exression as he whirled around completely to face his foe and his newly summoned Shikai. "Now we can get somewhere!" But the Reigai's excitement would be short-lived... "I wouldn't stand so still if I were you," Hashi spoke in an ominous tone, as he tapped the pommel of his halberd onto the tree limb... FWHOOSH-SHINK-SHINK-SHINK-SHINK-SHINK-SHINK! ...causing the water around the Reigai to swirl around in a rapid manner, before discharging hundreds of needle-sized projectiles at him from all angles, even below his feet. Their potency in penetration and cutting power was enough to rival some of the more resilient and powerful Projectile-based Zanpakutō. This would be the first step in pressuring the Mod Soul...into fighting him for real! "Ha!" The Reigai laughed aloud, using a quickly placed Flash Step to avoid the spherical appearing onslaught of razor sharp water needles. FRWOOOOOM!!!!!! Landing a little ways from Hashi, Kūgo quickly whirled around and slashed at the middle of the tree that Hachi stood on. "Get on down here and let's do this, you little shit!!" Hashi just stared down at him, letting himself fall in line with the tree, allowing the large trunk to hide him behind the falling piece of foilage. And then... SHIIINK-FWHOOSH! ...a large geyser of water shattered the tree entirely, as the halberd flew along with Hashi, moving an incredible torrent of directed, pressurized water along the flow of his cutting blade. He intended to thrust into Kūgo's abdominal area, allowing the rest of the culminated water to smash into him heavily, with enough force that even his augmented body couldn't ignore. Kūgo narrowed his gaze as he saw his foe's next attack fly straight at him at incredible speeds. Quickly swerving to the right, barely scathing his shoulder piece as he did so. There wasn't a doubt in his mind now, this kid, despite his arrogance, was pretty strong, close to Kūgo's own level at this state. He knew now that he would actually have to try in this fight. BOOM!!!!!! He then propelled himself forward, directly towards his foe at incredible speeds, causing a massive uproar of mud and debris to follow in his wake as he flew at his opponent to cause as much damage as possible. Hashi's eyes narrowed as his enemy propelled towards his direction. Grasping his Halberd, he began to spin it in rapid succession, gathering the abundant water and moisture around him to align with his movements. Once Kūgo would reach him with his initial attack... BOOSH-CLANG-FWOOSH-CRAK...! ...he would release a pressurized blast or fissure of water aligned with each of his strokes of his Halberd. Taking advantage of its pole-like nature, he would divert the wide swings and thrusts before thrusting in return, discharging fissures and waves of powerful water against his enemy, before finally changing their form into hundreds of projectiles. TANG!!!!! Kūgo's sword brought itself around and slammed directly into the halberd midway through one of it's movements. Truly, there was force behind it's form and it's stroke, it was only with Kūgo's own strength did his sword cut through the highly powered fissure of water that it had previously released. "So, a water type, huh?" he said with a grin as their weapons grinded against each other's. "Never fought one like that before. Guess this'll be a good bit of practice for me!" FRWOOOM!!!! He then brought his sword upwards, taking the halberd with it, as he then swung his left leg towards Hashi's rib cage with tremendous force as before. "My Zanpakutō..." TAP-WHIZ! "...isn't the only thing that moves like water!" Hashi remarked as he moved. As soon as the foot was upraised and launched, Hashi twisted his torso in sync with his rising lower body and twisting torso. Within an instant, he began spinning over the kick, grasping it with his free hand while using his upraised Halberd to keep his weapon away from his body to defend himself... WHAM! ...before slamming a water-enraptured double kick, sending a pressurized gale of only a square meter directly towards the man's face. The force would be enough to send him stumbling, and any ordinary entity would have their heads blown out from the back of his/her skull. Skidding back a few feet after the impact, the Reigai quickly spun itself around, bringing it's massive sword down upon Hashi's form with greater force than before. Having backflipped from his earlier, Hashi didn't relent or take time to analyze. Swinging the Halberd in a rapid motion all over his body in a blinding wave of water, gathering it from all around their proximity. As soon as the Reigai swung his blade down towards Hashi's form, he would find a sudden pressurized wave flourish in front of Hashi's form and crash into the attack, nullifying its force all-together. And then came the counterattack, as within the same instant the attack collided with the vivid, animated water, Hashi dropped into an extended crouch, slamming his left palm into the mass of liquid, speaking in a low voice of instinct... "Ōhadō!" (王波動, ou hadou; Jap Lit Translation, "Sovereign Wave.") BWHOOOSH!!! ...causing the accumulated gathered water to discharge, like an artillery weapon, into a pressurized geyser. The force would be enough for even the likes of the heartiest of individuals, especially Captains, to take head on, as it would thrust the Reigai in front of him with enough force to smash him through dozens of meters of rainforest landscape. The shockwave itself would be enough to flourish Hashi's hair and clothes wildly and indenting the ground from which it launched itself from... "Shit!" Kūgo said aloud, having just enough time to use the flat end of his sword as a shield from the majority of the blast, skidding back several meters before halting to a stop. Green energy began to bristle within his blade's hollowed out portion, extending down into the sword itself. FRWOOOOOOM!!!!!!! "Cross Rend!" he said aloud, as he swung his weapon and released a much more powerful cutting wave of sheer force in Hashi's direction, splitting the ground under it as it flew with the intent to sever him in half completely. "I've seen through that technique already," Hashi spoke aloud, spinning his halberd in a circle parallel to his form, surging water created by his weapon in a thick aura, "and I must say..." SHINK! "...I'm not impressed!" He declared out, stabbing the Zanpakutō into the ground surging a burst of Spiritual Energy into the soil below. As soon as the Cross Rend reached mere meters before his body, he spoke in a small whisper, even as the roar of the fiercesome technique drowned out his voice... "Ōkyōsha!" (王香車, ou kyousha; Jap Lit Translation, "Sovereign Lance.") FWHOOOSH-BOOM!!! ...causing an enormous, concentrated wave of water to discharge in the same manner as his previous technique. Differing from his earlier technique, this immense force was shaped into a immaculately designed spear, crashing into the large emerald wave with a concussive blast of moisturized wind to flourish and blow back a number of trees within their battlefield. The two colliding forces themselves seem to rupture and explode in an extremely heated vapor wave, spreading all across the vision and area of the water-drenched soil they were occupying. "Hmm, a little stronger than I imagined," Hashi mulled aloud, inhaling with relief at smelling the rich, if not slightly hot air within the atmosphere, "but it did give me a refreshing breeze, none-the-less..." WR-CRACK!!!!!! Within the very split distraction, the Reigai suddenly appeared behind Hashi, a wide grin on his face as he slammed his leg into Hashi's rib cage area with the force ecquivalant of a freight train, having used the Cross Rend as a means of keeping his foe off guard while he moved in for the opening. If only it were so... SHFT! ...as the Kūgo appeared behind him, as he suspected him to, he utilized a specialized high-class variant of Flash Step.... "Way of the Onmitsukidō #5..." ''SLICE!'' "...Suturobo Hanten!" ...the mere instant as the Reigai's leg intended to make contact with his back he vanished before his enemy's eyes. As the foot moved from its mark, Hashi reappeared directly in front of the Mod Soul, slashing his blade in sync of his deployment of his Flash Step in a diagonal arc, fueled by the heightened pressure of water along his halberd's edge, intending on damaging the armor on the resilient Reigai's chest and perhaps cutting him. "Damn!" the Reigai exclaimed as the cutting wave of water slammed into his chest and forced him to skid back another few feet. This time, the heat of the attack could be felt going through his chest armor. Although the damage wasn't of much concern, Kūgo knew that he'd have to play it more careful now. "So, Stealth Force guy, huh?" he asked with a wry grin. "I cut his armor," Hashi analyzed with grim satisfaction, seeing a sizzling wet gouge within the black-white rib-cage-lined armor across from the lower right abdomen up to his left breastplate. However, as he saw the man still smirking, he knew he hadn't drawn blood yet, "I'll have to get around his guard if I'm to incapacitate him. Another strategy will present itself..." Then, the thought hit him. As the Reigai commented about Hashi's origins, he smiled back as well, the first time he showed any sense of emotion since the beginning of the battle, "Yeah, something like that," he then swiveled his Zanpakutō around before allowing it to rest on his left shoulder, raising his right hand in what looked like a hand-sign, "sorry if you don't like this kind've battle, Kūgo, but I'm going to have to play it a bit more cautiously..." Sssssssft... The vapor within the air created a mist, creating both a visual smokescreen for his enemy, as well as augmenting his Spiritual Pressure into the mist itself. It would feel like white noise, making the most heightened senses of skilled entities such as Kūgo himself. That, and Hashi swiftly disappeared from view, hidden away to attempt his next attack... "So, gonna hide like a little bitch, huh?!" Kūgo yelled aloud as he looked around quickly, knowing that his foe was now using this water vapor as a means of hiding himself, most certainly preparing for another attack. At first, he didn't think that he had a means to be able to definately tell when or where his opponent would strike. Until... SCHICK!!!! He stabbed his sword into the ground, the skull on it's handle guard having a green glow in it's eyes briefly, as he continued to scan the area around him, and preparing for a counter attack... What Kūgo wouldn't sense was that Hashi wasn't anywhere within the fifty meter radius covered battlefield, enraptured and blanketed by the Spiritually strengthened water vapor. Hashi appeared a good ten meters away from its radius and about fifty meters in the air, holding his Zanpakutō errect into the air beside him in his left hand. He then outstretched his left hand when he heard the resounding clanking sound of the Reigai's blade, sementing into the earth, speaking lowly in a foreboding tone... "Ōbakusai!" (王爆砕, ou bakusai; Jap Lit Translation, "Sovereign Blast.") With a silent gesture to employ his technique, the deceptive "White Noise" smokescreen water vapor changed in a near instaneous manner. At the collective mass of water, a splitting sensation happened within its pocket, creating what would be felt and seen as a massive hydrogen explosion. It had enough power to create a spherical white energy wave to expand past the sight of a football field in all angles, and a shockwave that knocked back, shattering, and blow away nearly a hundred more meters of trees. With the Reigai sitting square within the midst of the detonation, there would be a near certainty that the unexpected explosion would damage him in some way. It would seem that way, as Kugo couldn't be seen in the aftermath of the explosion, or felt for that matter.